Car stop



patented Mar. 7, 1950 CAR STOP Francis Keith Holmested, Charleston, W.Va., assignor to Nellie Atkinson Holmested, Charleston, W. Va.

Application December 30, 1948, Serial No. 68,171 (Cl. 104-258) 1 Claims.

The present invention relates to car stops of the type adapted to beapplied to railroad rails for holding or stopping the movement of carsor other rolling stock, it providing certain improvements upon the railclamps or car stops disclosed in my prior Patents Nos. 2,320,868,granted June 1, 1943 and 2,360,230, granted October 10, 1944. Thisapplication is a continuation-in-part of my prior application Ser. No.725,436, filed January 31, 1947, which prior application is abandoned.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide an improvedcar stop which will be equally effective to hold or stop a car whenengaged by either the flange of a wheel on a car having a high body, orby the body of a lowbodied car, the stop having an upright which isrigid therewith and extends upwardly therefrom in a position forengagement by either the flange of a wheel on a car the body of which issufficiently high to pass over the stop, or for engagement by the bodyof a car which is so low that it will not pass over the stop, the stopin either event being thereby turned and tilted into locked position onthe rail.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a handle to enablethe stop to be 'placed on the rail with facility and safety in aposition for engagement and movement into locked position on the rail bythe flange of a car wheel or by the body of a car, the handle beingpreferably non-reversible relatively to the stop to avoid improperplacing of the stop on the rail.

In the accompanying drawing which illustrates the preferred embodimentof the invention:

Figur l is a vertical sectional view of a railroad rail showing theimproved stop in position on the rail and tilted and rotated into lockedposition thereon.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the rail and the stop thereon as viewedfrom the right in Figure 1, showing how the stop is tilted and rotatedinto locked position by the body of a low-bodied car.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the rail and the stop thereon in theposition which it occupies before being tilted or rotated into lockedposition.

Figure 4 is a, top plan view of the rail and the stop thereon, showingthe stop tilted and rotated into locked position by the flange of a carwheel.

Similar parts are designated by the same reference characters in thedifferent views 7- The improvements provided by the present inventionare shown in the present instance as applied to a rail clamp or car stopsubstantially hereinbefore referred to, and is adapted for use on arailroad rail of conventional form having a head I i) the undersides ofwhich are designated II and I2, a web 13, and a base l4 havingdownwardly sloping upper surfaces I5 and I8.

The improved car stop is composed preferably of a single or one-piececast or forged steel unit comprising a body 20 adapted to be placed overthe head of the rail and is provided with a pair of jaws 2i and 22 atits ends which are integral or rigid therewith and spaced apartsufficiently to enable the jaw 2| to pass over the rail head while thejaw 22 is engaged beneath one side of the rail head, and the stop isrocked about the jaw 22 as a fulcrum to seat the stop on the rail. Thejaws 2| and 22 will seat under the rail head at relatively oppositesides of the rail, and th extended end 23 of the jaw 2| will seat on theupper surface l5 of the base M of the rail when the stop is twisted orturned on the rail about an approximately vertical axis and tilted fromavertical plane, thereby locking the stop to the rail by gripping of thejaws 2| and 22 against the under side of the rail headat opposite sidesof the rail and wedging of the lower end 23 of the jaw 2| against theinclined upper surface I5 of the rail base.

Upon release of the force which holds the stop in twisted and tiltedposition, the stop may be readily released and removed from the rail byreturning it to the substantially upright position and turning it into aposition substantially at a right angle transversely of the rail, andthen lifting the stop so that the jaw 2| will clearits side of the railhead while the stop swings upwardly about th jaw 22 engaging beneath theother side of the rail head as a fulcrum. i

" The improved car stop is so constructed that it will be twisted andtilted into locked position on the rail either by the flange of a wheelof a car the body of which is suificiently high to clear or pass overthe stop, or by the body of a car which is so'low that it will not clearor pass over the stop, cars having bodies of such different heightsbeing used in mines and similar installa tions'. For'this purpose, theimproved stop is pro'i-fvided with anlupright 25 which is formed integrally .with or rigidly fixed to the body 20 of the stop and extendsupwardly therefrom atthe end of the stop which is substantially inalinement with and above the jaw 2 I, this upright ex tendingrupwardlyto a height somewhat greater than that of :the highest low car bodyingen eralf'usez. This; upright is trian ular or V-shaped of theconstruction disclosed in my priorpatents 56 imhorizontalcross-section,the base 26 of the triangle being located at the side of the uprightadjacent to the respective end of the body and the apex thereof beinglocated at the side of the upright substantially centrally of the lengthand width of the body of the stop and preferably substantially alinedwith the inner portion of the jaw 2|, the sides of the upright providinga pair of faces 28 and 29 which converge to the apex 2? and form withthe base 26 a pair of edges 30' and 3| at opposite sides of the stop andadjacent to one end thereof which, when the stop is in place on therail, will be ofiset to one side of the rail.

In operation, assuming that the stop has been placed on the rail in the.manner hereinbefore described and that the stop is approached by a carthe body A of which is low or not sufficiently high above the rail topass over the upright on the stop, the body of such car will engage theedge 30 or 3|, according to the side of the stop toward which the carapproaches and, due to the laterally ofiset relation between such edgeof the upright and the rail, the stop will be twisted or turned on therail about an approximately vertical axis and also tilted on the rail,as shown in Figure 2, thereby causing the jaws 2| and 22 to assumepositions under and to grip the underside of the rail head and theextended end 23 of the jaw 2| to wedge against the upper surface |5 onthe base of the rail and to thereby lock the stop on the rail to arrestmovement of the car and to hold the car against movement. If the stop isapproached by a car the body of which is suificiently high above therail to pass over the stop, the flange b of a wheel B on such -a carwill engage the convergent or wedge surface 28 or 29 on the upright,according to the direction in which such a car approaches the stop, suchconvergent surface lying in the vertical plane of the car wheel flange,and the stop will then be twisted or turned on the rail about .anapproximately vertical axis and also tilted on the rail, substantiallyas shown in Figure 4, thereby causing the jaws 2| and 22 and theextended end 23 of the jaw to engage and grip the rail and thereby lock.the stop thereon.

In using the stop to arrest the movement of and to hold a car having alow body, the stop may be placed on the rail with the jaw 2| located ateither the inner or the outer side of the rail, but in using the stop toarrest the movement of :and to hold a car having a high body, the stopis placed on the rail with the jaw 2| at the inner side of the rail sothat the convergent surface '28 or 29 of the upright will be in aposition for engagement of the car wheel flange, as shown in Figure 4.

The present invention also provides means for placing the stop on therail with facility and safety to the attendant, such means comprising ahandle having a yoke portion 32 and a hand engaging portion 33, thehandle being composed preferably of a strip of flat metal of sufiicientrigidity doubled transversely midway of its length to form the laterallyspaced sides of the yoke portion and the ends of the strip being broughttogether and secured as by riveting or welding to form the hand engagingportion. The .yoke portion of the handle is sufiiciently wide tostraddle the body of the 'stop and the upright thereon, and is pivotallyconnectedtothe body of the stop by a pivot pin or bolt 34 which ex tendsthrough the'sides of the yoke portion :and "through a hole in a lug 35which is formed integrally with or otherwise'fixed'to the end of thebody of the stop adjacent to the jaw 2|. The preponderant portion of theweight of the stop and its upright is at the side of the pivot 34 whichis toward the hand engaging portion 33 of the handle, and when the stopis lifted by the handle, it will swing by gravity about the pivot 34into a position in which the jaw 22 is lower than the jaw 2| and is in aposition for insertion beneath the rail head ID at the outer side of therail, and as the stop is lowered by the handle, the jaw 2| will swinginwardly and downwardly over the upper inner edge of the rail head andassume a position for engagement with the underside of the rail head andwith the extended end 23 of the jaw 2| in position for engagement withthe surface IS on the base M at the inner side of the rail preparatoryto locking of the stop on the rail in the manner hereinbefore explained.After the stop has been thus placed on the rail, the handle may beallowed to rest on the top of the rail.

Removal of the stop from the rail by the use of the handle, after thelocking or holding force has been released from the stop, may beeffected by swinging the handle in a direction to rotate the stop abouta substantially vertical axis into a position at right angles to therail and allowing the stop to assume an upright position, and thenlifting the stop by the handle. The upward force thus applied to thepivot 34 will first lift and thereby disengage the jaw 2| from the railwhile the stop swings by gravity about said pivot as a center while thejaw 22 is engaged beneath the rail head, and after the stop has beenswung suificiently to permit the jaw 2| to pass over the top of therail, the stop may be withdrawn across the top of the rail and to itsouter side by pulling the handle.

The upright 25 is of greater length than that of the yoke portion 32 ofthe handle and will strike and thereby limit the extent of swing of thehandle in one direction about the pivot 34, and the intermediate portion36 of the handle will strike a portion of the body and thereby limit theextent of swing of the handle in the other direction about said pivot,reversal of the handle relatively to the stop being thereby prevented,thus avoiding placing of the stop improperly on the rail.

When the stop is to be used only for cars havinglow bodies and the stopis to be placed on the rail so that the jaw 2| and upright 25 are at theouter side of the rail, a simple straight handle. like that shown in myprior Patent No 2,360,230 hereinbefore referred to, may be pivotallyattached to the lug 35.

I claim:

1. A car stop comprising a body adapted to be placed transversely on arail and having inner and outer jaws fixed thereon and engageablerespectively with opposite sides of the rail, one

of said jaws being engageable also with an upper surface of the base ofthe rail, and an upright .extending upwardly from said body above one ofthe base of the rail, said upright having a pair of surfaces thereonwhich extend transversely of the body toward an apex which faces theother jaw and is engageable by a car wheel flange for twisting andtilting the clamp or stop on the rail.

3. A rail clamp or car stop comprising a body adapted to be placedtransversely on a rail and having rigidly connected jaws engageablerespectively with the inner and outer sides of the rail by twisting ofthe clamp or stop about an axis transverse to the length of the rail tolock the clamp or stop thereon, the clamp or stop having an uprightrigid therewith and extending upwardly therefrom above the jawengageable with the inner side of the rail to a height above the bodysuiiicient for engagement of a car body therewith and having a pair ofsurfaceson the side thereof facing the jaw engageable with the outerside of the rail and reversely inclined laterally relatively to thelength of the clamp or stop, one or the other of said inclined surfacesbeing engageable by the flange of a car wheel.

4. A rail clamp or car stop comprising a body adapted to be placedtransversely on a rail and having a pair of rigidly connected jawsthereon engageable with the undersides of the rail head at the inner andouter sides respectively of the rail and one of said jaws beingengageable also with an upper surface of the base of the rail, and anupright rigid with and extending upwardly from the body above the jawengageable with the base of the rail and presenting lateral edges atopposite sides of the body and at a sufiicient height above the body forengagement and operation by the body of a car to twist and tilt the stopon the rail and thereby move said jaws into gripping engagement with therail, said upright also having at a side thereof facing the jawengageable with the outer side of the rail a pair of surfaces whichextend from its lateral edges in convergent relation toward an apexlocated above and in a plane between the sides of the body forengagement by the flange of a car wheel.

5. A car stop comprising a body adapted to straddle a rail head andhaving a pair of jaws at its respective ends rigid therewith andengageable respectively with the inner and outer sides of the rail, andan upright rigid with and extending upwardly from the body insubstantial alinement with the jaw engageable with the inner side of therail, and a handle having a yokeshaped portion and a pivot connectingthe handle to the end of the body adjacent to the jaw engageable Withthe inner side of the. rail, the upright extending for a greaterdistance from the pivot than the yoke-shaped portion for limiting theextent of swing of the handle in one direction relatively to the stop,and the yokeshaped portion having an intermediate portion adjacent tothe pivot and engageable with a portion of the stop for limiting theextent of swing of the handle in the opposite direction relatively tothe stop.

FRANCIS KEITH HOLMESTED.

REFERENCE S CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Holmested Oct. 10,1944 Number

